Speaking of n.o.bles, their words alone are enough.

What should I do?

If I were to take the rest of Forest of Beginnings, wouldn"t that mean they"ll keep bothering me?

I closed my eyes and crossed my arms while thinking about it for a moment.

"… The territory is enough for now. It is not necessary to increase it any more."

"About that, the other country might be okay with it but not with its people."

I look at Aisha as she said so.

"Why?"

Why the people will disagree with it?

It has nothing to do with them.

"Well, actually, you see, Mr Null is treated like a hero in my country."

It"s Milia who said it this time.

"Hero?"

What did she say?

I stared Aisha intensely, hoping for an answer.

"That day, when the kingdom fell into crisis, your swift action has saved many lives. Just before the Gallia"s army was at the brim of death, they"ve gallantly appeared before them and immediately triumph over the Demon King"s army."

Isn"t that too much?

It wasn"t like that at all.

They didn"t appear dashingly in front of the Gallia"s army.

They appeared behind the Demon King"s army.

"I saved the kingdom not because I want to. It was a part of the agreement I"ve made with the alliance. Also, the Gallia"s army happens to be there when they were rescuing the subordinate dolls."

"It may appear to be so. But we can"t overlook the fact that it"s true."

"What do you mean?"

"Although it seems unreal because of the rumour, it"s still nothing to be scoffed at."

It"s not that a big deal right?

The thing with tail-finned rumour is, it will follow you no matter where you are.

"If you don"t give them at least something for compensation, you"ll slowly lose their trust."

"If so, won"t it be possible just to banish them from the Forest of Beginnings?"

I don"t get it. What do they see in that forest?

I will not be convinced if they want to easily hand me over the forest.

"That"s impossible. At most, since they only require the minimum fee, it wouldn"t be a problem if you pay them."

It"s good if it"s only judging by the size of it.

Although it"s been some time, Drei"s weapon is actually something I got from the forest.

Wrinkles formed between my eyebrows.

"Surely haven"t you said before, it"s impossible to raise the reward based on the military achievement, isn"t it?"

I feel like I was told something like that before they make me partic.i.p.ate in the war…

"There will be no problem. This time it is the country of Gallia that will be distributing the reward as the Fifteen Countries of Federated States."

For real?

"Anyway, Lord Null"s request for territory independence has already been completed. What"s left now is for Lord Null to receive the territory."

"You guys sure work fast."

"That is to say, you"ve shown spectacular performance during the war."

Are they trying to maintain good relations with me?

"However…"

Aisha continues to speak.

"It"s difficult to declare independence from the Gallia country."

"You don"t want my power to be monopolized, is that it?"

Aisha nodded to my words.

"We won"t allow Lord Null to abuse the power. Some people say we"ve been threatened and currently moving under your order."

Somewhere in her tone, there are sounds of disgust.

I"ve shown my power too much…

Now they"ve seen it all, I can no longer pretend.

"Lord Null, have you ever think we"ll capture you by giving you a territory? Your freedom will come to an end soon…"

"Hurry up, can you just agree with us already?"

Does this mean I"m in no position to say no? I have no choice but keep my promise.

I glare at her for a moment and force myself to say,

"I understood."

I obediently accept it.

Is there anything I can do?

"So, about the territory, is it going to be a problem if the monster in the forest crosses the border even by a step? Do you want it to be eradicated?"

If a monster suddenly emerged from the forest and roared, that means I won"t be able to join the international affair without their permission.

"It"s alright. If it"s a demon type monster, it won"t be a problem since it will be under natural disaster control. However, it would be a different story, if you purposely gave up."

"In other words, even if the monster comes out and attacked the kingdom. It would still be a problem if I didn"t weaken it first, is that it?"

"So it seems."

I see. Then, I should not increase the territory anymore.

"What about the border of the territory, will you build a wall around it?"

I jokingly give her a little suggestion.

Then, Aisha shook her head up and down.

"Yes. I think that"s a good idea."

"It"s a joke. In the first place, there"s only the Forest of Beginnings and a small amount of flatland, so, if you set up a wall around them, it seems like you"re confining this place."

Now then, what to do about the border…

"Since the border of the country has not yet existed, how about we create a village first?"

Will it be okay?

"A village, is it?"

While thinking about it, they lean against the chair backrest.

I can build a good relationship with the village I"ve rescued before.

But, what about the other two?

"When we decide to hand over the Forest of Beginnings, you did suggest to build a big village in here. Surely, there"s a lot of things must be considered first."

After silent for a while, she suddenly talks.

"A village in the Forest of Beginnings?"

It"s not a bad proposition if I may say so…

"But, will you obediently obey us and order for migration of the village in the vicinity?"

"It"s possible since he has the authority. Besides, Lord Null is not a lord but a king. Which means they will not go against him."

Being command forcefully…

I don"t like this at all.

Somehow, the wrinkles between my eyebrows are increasing.

"It can"t be helped, then."

TL’s Note: